NATO denies UN report airstrike killed 3 children

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The NATO military coalition in Afghanistan has denied a United Nations report that a coalition airstrike killed three children in eastern Afghanistan.

The United Nations Children’s Fund cited the alleged incident in a statement this week condemning a steep rise in child casualties. The statement said an aerial attack by international forces killed three children in the eastern province of Kunar this month.

The U.S.-led coalition said Friday that the report was “simply not true,” and it had no aircraft operating in Kunar at the time of the June 6 incident. It said discussions with the provincial governor indicated that reports of a drone strike had been a misunderstanding.

UNICEF insisted Friday that it verifies all its figures and stands by the Kunar report.